Place: Dubai
Venue: Dubai Design District
Format: Contest Exhibition, Panel Discussion, interactive installation "BIG CHALLENGE"
Topic: local cultures in global settings - presentation and awards ceremony
Moderates: Massimo Imparato
Panelists:
- Lidewij Edelkoort, Forecaster, educator, publisher, activist
- Federica Minozzi, CEO Iris Ceramica Group
- Sumaya Dabbagh, founder of Dabbagh Architects

Panel Discussion

The "Local Cultures in Global Settings" project reaches its climax at the Dubai Design Week with the presentation of an extremely engaging and entertaining interactive installation entitled "BIG CHALLENGE". 
The name of the installation is in itself an invitation to take part, and the work becomes a playground: the ceramic slab made with Iris Ceramica Group materials is customised with the geometric decoration that won the “Local Cultures in Global Settings” contest.
With the patented digital printing technology Design Your Slabs, ceramic surfaces become a blank canvas for creating any original illustration or image.
The design "DRIFT" by Niko Kapa, the winner of the contest launched in Milan during the Salone de Mobile, customises the ceramic slabs which, for the occasion, become a huge ping-pong table that can host several players at the same time, engaging visitors to the Dubai Design Week in exciting matches and tournaments.

Niko Kapa’s "DRIFT" interprets the concept of the international contest “Local Cultures in Global Settings” marvellously: the celebration of individual cultural identities in the globalised world, recalling the style of Burle Marx’s decorations.
The "DRIFT" pattern is inspired by the natural landscape, combining elements of contemporary design and traditional handicrafts and capturing the essence and distinctive identity of the location.

The Dubai Design Week will also host an interesting All-Female Talk between Federica Minozzi, CEO of Iris Ceramica Group, the architect Sumaya Dabbagh founder of Dabbagh Architects and the trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort, on the topic of globalisation and its repercussions on the production processes born from natural raw materials, as well as architectural design. The speakers will also discuss and analyse how creative communities can respond to the growing demand for identifying elements in the expressions of globalised lifestyles.

At the same time, design students will have the chance to take part in a workshop focusing entirely on the phases of the creative process; from the initial idea and inspiration to its elaboration and concrete application to design objects.